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6 October 2007

I was very fortunate to have been offered a complimentary stay at the Adelphi Hotel. After reading this post, one of the co-owners, Damien, was kind enough to offer me a free night at his hotel.

Adelphi Hotel is located at 187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne and is an intimate boutique hotel. The interior decor is funky and modern where every room has wifi, broadband, an LCD TV, a Bose iPod Dock and an autographed copy of Teage Ezard's cookbook. I have to tell you, I was sooo tempted to take the cookbook :p

The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. When we arrived there was a small fruit platter in our room and the general manager, Andrew, left a personal welcome note. Personal touches like that is what makes the Adelphi Hotel stand apart from those big multi-chain hotels.

Now, how can I talk about the Adelphi and not mention THAT pool!

The pool is located on the rooftop of the hotel, where part of it hangs over the roof overlooking Finders Lane. The part of the pool that overhangs has a glass floor so you can see down onto the street when you go for a swim. Unfortunately, the day was too cold to go for a few laps of the pool.

Here is hubby's contribution to the worlds most photographed pool...

On the ground floor of the hotel is Ezard's. An internationally acclaimed restaurant. Since we dined at Ezard's a couple of month's back (see this post), we decided to have our dinner at Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar and Grill. We have been here before earlier this year but we enjoyed it so much we decided to return. The menu hasn't changed much since our last visit but that was OK since I planned to have the wagyu beef anyway.

For starters, Hubby and I shared a ham and salami tasting plate. It consisted of Serrano Ham from Spain , Joselito Iberico Ham from Northern Spain, San Daniele Prosciutto from Italy and an Australian Salami. (I'm sorry I can't remember the name). Each ham had a different flavour from each other. Personally I liked the Joselito Iberico Ham. It was full of flavour and it melted in the mouth. (I have to go out and look for some to buy.)

For the mains, Hubby opted for the woodfired Grilled Pigeon with parsnip, pears and radicchio. I ordered the Wagyu. I am so glad I finally had a taste of the wagyu beef. It was tender and luscious in the mouth. For our sides we shared the "mac and cheese" and sauteed Brussel Sprouts with bacon, onions and burnt butter. As the waiter said "you gotta have your sprouts!" That was delish. The reason why it was so good, we found out later, is that fat from the joselito iberico ham was used in it.

And finally for dessert I had Orange Creme Caramel and Hubby had the Strawberry salad with vanilla panacotta. My creme caramel was nice and had a bitter tang to it due to the orange. Hubby's dessert was different. It was served in a martini glass. The strawberry "salad" had pistachios and tiny cubes of jelly. In the middle sat a layer of vanilla panacotta. It was topped off with rose granita. I think I would have liked that if it wasn't for the rose granita.... not a fan of rose flavourings.

Hubby and I had a fantastic weekend for our anniversary. On Sunday morning we picked up the Little One from home and went out for a drive.

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comments:

Ooooh, you lucky thing to stay there! I love the Adelphi - only stayed there once, to celebrate my partner completing his PhD. We went for dinner at ezard and got the full desgustation menu - and Mr Ezard himself gave us a copy of the autographed menu with a little 'congratulations' written in the corner! Sadly, we stayed in the middle of winter so I'm yet to swim in that pool... :)And congrats on your anniversary!